Music Law in the Digital Age

Book excerpt: (Berklee Press). Learn copyright essentials in order to succeed in today's music industry. With the free-form exchange of music files and musical ideas online, understanding copyright laws has become essential to career success in the new music marketplace. This cutting-edge, plain-language guide shows you how copyright law drives the contemporary music industry. Whether you are an artist, lawyer, entertainment Web site administrator, record label executive, student, or other participant in the music industry, this book will help you understand how copyright law affects you, helping you use the law to your benefit. Topics include basic copyright law, the Copyright Act, proper licenses for the legal online delivery of music, high profile court decisions related to copyright violations, using music on sites like MySpace and YouTube, and much more.